


Apartment

by c000kiesandcream



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Apartment, College AU, I wanted to write this ages ago, M/M, Modern Baseball, Songfic, star---dust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-10-31 21:55:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10908213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/c000kiesandcream/pseuds/c000kiesandcream
Summary: Suddenly, his eyes darted sideways, and they latched onto Yuuri’s. He smiled, softly, and raised his voice slightly to introduce himself.And Yuuri could not muster the courage to say a single word.





	Apartment

**Author's Note:**

> College AU based on a song by my current favourite band, [Modern Baseball.](https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj3y-rVwfDTAhWLAMAKHfkVDmgQyCkIMDAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJgp7nEnJ-GM&usg=AFQjCNFF_Hm74K9NO_sWvzfoA1fwWQ3k1g) This seems like a cute-meet without being sickly sweet and I wanted to spend my Sunday writing something chill, so enjoy!  
> [Come hang out on Tumblr!](http://star---dust.tumblr.com)✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

The first time Yuuri saw Victor was in his apartment.

It was late. Yuuri had spent the best part of the day chained to his desk, bent over some complex maths equations and trying to figure out why the numbers didn’t match up. Two hours, three pages, and four cups of coffee later, his mechanical pencil was out of lead, and he had lost the will to live.

Suddenly, as though someone had listened to his silent prayers, a distraction in the shape of his best friend walked through the door. Phichit, his younger and far more social roommate, held in his hands two cups of coffee, a pack of aspirin, and an invitation to a casual party two blocks over with a couple of post grad students he had met at yoga that morning.

Yuuri sipped his (thankfully) decaf latte, deliberating the pros and cons of accepting the invitation.

On the one hand, it would get him out of the dorm and he would have to interact with other humans, forcing him out of his head and giving his headache a chance to heal before he attempts to work through any more equations.

On the other hand, though, is the fact that Yuuri is painfully awkward, and sometimes even meeting new people can be an exhausting ordeal. It had taken him half a semester to even talk to Phichit outside of “can I steal some milk” and “do you have a spare pencil”. To his pleasant surprise, Phichit was the exact opposite, and filled much of their awkward silences with enough pleasant chatter to make it feel slightly less awkward. He was also very good at reading people, so he knew when to tone it down and leave Yuuri to his silence. Their dynamic worked, but Yuuri was always hesitant about opening his circle.

He wasn’t rude, and he wasn’t unfriendly once he was comfortable. In fact, he could be incredibly funny, and even gave Phichit a run for his money. He had a small group of course mates, friends back home, and Phichit. He was happy with his small circles, but Phichit, as always, wanted to go to every party, every get together, and every event in case he missed something.

And, of course, he could always convince Yuuri to go.

So that’s how Yuuri found himself hugging a bag full of beer in the cramped elevator of a small apartment building three blocks away. It was cold, so they had wrapped up, but Yuuri could feel the chill of the glass pressed against his chest thorough the fabric and plastic. His heart raced as he considered turning back, drinking the beer in his room and trying to solve that god damn equation. But, as always, he never did.

He followed Phichit and the few others that were in the elevator single file through the darkness. He assumed that they were heading to the same party, from their average age and clinking bottles. Together they walked in an uncomfortable silence, shuffling and muttering apologies as they followed the sound of music at the end of the hall. When they reached it, they walked through the half-open door, allowing it to shut gently behind them.

“Hey guys, Phichit! Glad you could make it, and this must be Yuuri,” a guy in a university sweatshirt opened his arms and pulled Yuuri close to kiss both his cheeks. He had a slight European accent, but Yuuri couldn’t place it. His cheeks flushed with the kisses and the sudden burst of heat as they entered the living room. The apartment was clean, albeit a little messy, and it had a cosy feel to it. The mismatched furniture felt much like Yuri's own dorm, and from what he could see of the kitchen the layout was exactly the same. It relaxed Yuuri slightly.

The party sat around a small coffee table, balancing beer bottles on top of books and around a few bowls of chips and dip while they barrelled through uncomfortable introductions. Yuuri was quiet, listening to the conversations that bubbled around him and roaming the room with his eyes. Phichit was sat next to him, sinking into the couch cushions, chatting to a red-haired student in Yuuri’s year. He vaguely recognised her from his labs, and she smiled across to him as though she did, too.

He looked around, carefully hiding beneath his glasses as he looked at the other guests. Phiciht’s arm nudged his elbow, and Yuuri looked in the direction he had nodded. Sat a few seats away was the other guy that Phichit had mentioned at his yoga class.

Yuuri looked his direction, inspecting his features as well as he could while trying not to stare.

The man sat across from him was a vision in white, his loose t-shirt hanging off one shoulder as his fingers idly scratched the bare skin. His fringe fell over his face, concealing one of his large teal eyes that creased with the smile on his lips. While he listened to the person who was talking to him, his attention too wandered around the room, taking in the faces of the strangers in his apartment.

Yuuri couldn’t take his eyes off him. He watched the curve of his lips as he spoke softly to the person next to him, the gentle music and the general buzz of conversation masking his voice. Suddenly, his eyes darted sideways, and they latched onto Yuuri’s. He smiled, softly, and raised his voice slightly to introduce himself.

And Yuuri could not muster the courage to say a single word.

Instead, he excused himself, darting to the bathroom before he could embarrass himself any more. Leaning against the sink, he sighed, avoiding even making eye contact with himself in the mirror.

This was a casual party. No heavy drinking, no thumping music, and no dancing. This was an easy social setting, and Yuuri should not be so worried.

But he was.

Eventually, he decided he had to leave. He flushed for show, washed his hands anyway, and returned to the living room, where one of the guests had pulled out a word game of some kind. The yellow tiles lay scattered across the now cleared table, everyone was sat on the floor and it seemed competitive, given the new level of noise that drowned out even the chorus of the generic rock song that was playing through the speakers. Phichit called Yuuri over, shuffling aside so there was space. He was handed a few tiles, and another beer, which he sipped gratefully, while he watched the gameplay.

It was evident that no one was following any set of rules. The aim was to spell as many words as you could with your tiles, replacing them until there were no more left. But everyone cheated, taking extra tiles and moving already spelled-out words. And no one could spell. Still, it was fun, and Yuuri even joined in, when the alcohol kicked in and he could relax slightly.

He watched the attractive guy from across the table, and he realised that he looked bored. Eventually the guy got up, yawning as he carded his hand through his hair and vaguely dismissed the cries that he should stay. He said that he had a meeting with a professor early the next morning, waving a goodbye and smiling directly at Yuuri before heading to bed.

The party wound down not long after that. People trickled out the door, so Yuuri made the executive decision to drag Phichit back to their dorm room.

As they walked through the freezing night air, Yuuri kept his eyes low, silent as they approached their street. He imagined what he would say if he saw the beautiful stranger again, dreaming of the conversations that he could have had if he had any semblance of social skills. Maybe he came off annoying, and clingy, and awkward. He hated that that was the first impression people generally had of him, but he couldn’t help himself. Besides, it was pretty presumptuous for him to assume that he and this stranger would fall madly in love.

The stranger, Phichit informed him as they walked, was a literature grad student named Victor, who had moved here from Russia after a successful career as a figure skater. A minor fall which resulted in a career-ending injury meant that he had had to reconsider his future. He had made a fair amount of money as Russia’s number one figure skater, so he decided to return to school, where he graduated top of his class and earned a scholarship to the same university as Yuuri.

Yuuri considered this new information, digesting the fact that a minor celebrity lived a few blocks away. He smiled at the thought of the playful tug of Victor’s lips when he had looked at Yuuri, but shook the thought from his mind. He didn't know Victor in the slightest. Besides that, there was no way Victor would be interested in dating an undergrad, much less an undergrad that could barely speak to him when he saw him.

Still, the thought stuck with Yuuri, and when they returned to their room, Yuuri tried and failed to focus on his work. He decided to try and sleep, but those attempts failed too.

He lay in bed, hardly able to close his eyes, butterflies barrelling against his ribcage as he remembered the soft shoulder that shrugged playfully at Yuuri’s dorky dad jokes.

For a while, Yuuri tried to forget the party. He worked at his equations, and attended classes, avoiding the grad school building that he usually frequented on his lunch breaks with his professor’s TA. The weather grew colder, and Phichit skipped a few yoga classes, so Victor, for the time being, became an ephemeral memory.

 

The second time Yuuri saw Victor was, again, in his apartment.

After winter break, Phichit started back at his yoga classes, and he tried to encourage Yuuri to join him to help shed the holiday weight they had both gained during their time off. Yuuri considered it before he remembered that he would be in the same class as Victor, and he didn't feel like advertising his lack of flexibility.

Within the first two weeks of the spring semester, Phichit had another invitation to a party at Chris & Victor’s apartment, which of course he accepted before he could tell Yuuri. He returned home after classes to drop his bag off, and feigned shock that Yuuri was crouched over a textbook in his pyjamas.

“Yuuri! Get dressed!” Phichit snatched the book away, much to Yuuri’s chagrin.

“Hey! I need that-”

“What you need is to get ready, I said we would be there at 9,” Phichit retorted, dropping the book sharply against the desk. Yuuri groaned in response.

“It’s late, I need to be up, and-”

Again, Phichit interrupted. “No ands or buts. When was the last time you saw a human besides me?”

A pause that lasted a little too long served as his answer. Defeated, Yuuri followed his instructions, and within half an hour they were out in the cold, walking towards the grad student dorm rooms. His nerves started up again, but this time they felt different. Instead of the desire to run home, Yuuri was overcome with the desire to run towards Victor’s apartment, which was a weird experience. He looked up at the clear night sky, aware that the last time he had made this journey had also been a clear night sky. Stars glittered against the blackness, and Yuuri tried not to consider the romantic implications of such a sight.

It took a little too long for them to approach the basic apartment block, then past the security office, and into the familiar elevator. His memory had painted a much bleaker picture of the building, and the small box wasn’t as small as he remembered it. The hallway lights were still out, and his mind hadn’t exaggerated the size of the hallway. As before, the bottles clinked against his chest as he walked behind Phichit through the darkness until they were in front of the door.

It swung open; Victor’s face was just above Phichit’s and stretched into a wide smile to greet them. His eyes rested on Yuuri’s for a little longer than was usually deemed appropriate. It caused a hot flush to creep up Yuuri’s neck, and tinge his already red ears a slightly darker shade of burgundy. A different smile played on Victor’s lips as he stepped aside to let them in. Phichit whizzed past, while Yuuri lingered for a moment in the doorway.

“Hi,” he muttered, glancing down as he shuffled past.

“Hey. Yuuri, right?” Victor smirked. He seemed aware of the effect he was having on the undergrad, who flushed again as slender fingers delicately unwrapped the scarf around his neck. Warm hands brushed the skin against his neck, flaring as they slipped the fabric away from the skin.

“Yes. Victor,” Yuuri replied, unsure as to whether the name had sounded enough like a question. Victor laughed musically, the sound only agitating the butterflies in Yuuri’s stomach.

“Yes. Shall we?” He gestured to the open hallway which he knew led to the living area. Together, they walked, and while Victor took Yuuri’s beer to the kitchen, Yuuri took a seat next to Phichit. His nerves again settled in his stomach, and the familiar feeling of fight or flight kicked in. He really should be home sleeping. He checked his watch, and counted the hours he could get if he went home and fell asleep immediately. 

His thoughts were interrupted by the cushions next to him sinking slightly. The last time he had been here he had sat next to a stranger. This time Victor had sat next to him on the couch.

An eyebrow quirk told him that Phichit had noticed, which caused Yuuri’s butterflies to kick him from the inside.

His hands were clasped for most of the night, a coping mechanism from his childhood that he hadn’t quite lost, and his eyes continued to dart to the window, staring at the black sky that filled the squares. Victor noticed once, and followed his line of vision before staring, too.

The party was not as raucous as the first night they had visited, and so Yuuri was allowed the opportunity to relax slightly into the social setting. The faces were familiar enough, but he only had eyes for Victor. They spent the night quietly discussing Victor’s research, Yuuri’s lack of knowledge on Russian Literature, the promise of a book exchange, and their love for the same small band that was touring in a few months time.

Before they knew it, the party was over, and only the dorm mates and the hosts remained. It was Phichit’s turn to drag Yuuri away, but this time he had the courage to ask for Victor’s number. Once they had exchanged contact details, they parted ways, holding each other’s gaze until the door closed.

Phichit teased Yuuri all the way home, but he hardly noticed. He wondered when he should text Victor, whether tomorrow would be too soon, and whether Victor had actually wanted to give him his number in the first place.

That night, while he failed to sleep, he dreamed of all the possible conversations they could have tomorrow, and the possibility that they could end up as more than friends.

 

Following Phichit’s advice, Yuuri followed the three day rule, waiting the appropriate length of time so as not to scare his “future beau” away. He tried to distract himself with his work, but he found his mind wandering to flashes of silver hair across campus, the warm curve of a finger wrapped around his neck, and he wished he hadn’t asked Phichit to hold the number on his phone while he waited.

The three days passed, and Phichit greeted Yuuri in the morning with a bowl of cereal and the number, smiling as Yuuri punched the digits into his phone.

In his excitement, he pressed call instead of add contact, and he stared in horror as the dial tone rang out from his handset.

It didn’t last long, as Victor answered the call almost immediately.

 _“Yuuri! Hi,”_ Victor’s cheerful voice called from the phone. Yuuri looked up at Phichit, who was waving his hands for Yuuri to hold the phone to his ear.

“H-Hey, sorry, how are you?” Yuuri’s voice sounded small, but he relaxed at the laugh at the end of the phone.

 _“Never better. How are you?”_ The expectation hung in the airwaves transmitting the phone call; Yuuri breathed in before releasing the breath as a rushed question.

“I was wondering if, maybe, you wanted to hang out tonight? We could make dinner or something,” he gasped out, blinking at Phichit who slapped his head comically. The wait was barely a second, but Yuuri was relieved to hear the smile as Victor answered.

_“Absolutely.”_

 


End file.
